Riders from 16 states and one foreign country braved strong winds, cool temperatures and a rainy morning to participate in the ninth annual Dam to Dam Century Ride.

Bike enthusiasts began leaving the Wabash County YMCA shortly before 8 a.m., destined to ride either 15, 30, 50, 62, 80 or 104 miles around Wabash County. There were 565 riders registered for the event, though not all participated. Some opted out because of the weather conditions.

Wabash Presbyterian Church Pastor Jonathan Cornell recently announced that the Church’s school, the Presbyterian School, will begin offering an all-day option for parents of local children.

Two years ago, the board of the Presbyterian Preschool realized that to continue to serve the families of Wabash well, it would need to change. Having served the community for over five decades is important, but resting on its laurels would not help it meet the shifting needs of an emerging community.

Beginning with a full curriculum review – complete with a new vision and new name – the Presbyterian school was reborn.

Wabash City Schools’ budget, which will be put under the microscope by the Wabash City Council and School Board in the coming weeks, will have a much different structure to it this time around due to state mandates.

Chief Business Officer Matt Stone laid out the changes and what they mean at the Tuesday, Sept. 4 school board meeting.
The General Fund is no more. Additionally, there is no more Capital Projects Fund, Transportation Fund or Bus Replacement Fund.

Capital Projects, Bus Replacement and Transportation, along with some of what used to be in the General Fund will now be in what’s called the Operations Fund.

About 80 percent of what used to be the General Fund will now make up the Education Fund.

Visitors to the Roann Covered Bridge Festival don't let a wet Saturday afternoon stop them from having fun. Photo by Joseph Slacian

By Josh Sigler
jsigler@thepaperofwabash.com

ROANN -- Rain wreaked havoc on the Roann Covered Bridge Festival over the weekend, with several main attractions having to be canceled due to the steady fall of precipitation Friday and Saturday.

The parade, both tractor pulls, and mud volleyball were among the popular events that had to be cancelled over the weekend due to the weather.

“I think we did pretty well for what we could do,” festival coordinator Donna Harman said. “You just have to make due with what you can for the weather. We are thankful it wasn’t a washout. We didn’t have storms. The sun was shining some place. I was amazed at the people that did come even with the rain.”

ROANN – The theme for the 2018 Roann Covered Bridge Festival came together seamlessly for festival coordinator Donna Harmon.

She heard of a Beach Boys tribute group named Sounds of Summer through the local Chevy Club. The band was at the national Chevy Convention last year, and Harmon heard nothing but rave reviews about them.

Then, at the Kunkel Cruise-In she saw a little Volkswagen with surfboards and umbrellas sticking out of it.

“It was painted with palm trees and the sunset,” Harmon said. “He’s from Fort Wayne and he’s going to come be in our parade. I asked him if he’d park his car up near the stage on the night the Beach Boys group plays.”

The planned trade mission involving Wabash County officials to Japan and China has been in the development stage for about 18 months.

That was the word from Keith Gillenwater, executive director of Grow Wabash County, and Wabash Mayor Scott Long. The two sat down with The Paper of Wabash County to discuss the trade mission, why it was taking place and other details.

“Initially we were contacted about going to China to see about setting up a sister city,” Long said. “I thought it was a good idea.”

Tim Pitcher, president of development for Luckett and Farley Development Services, outlined plans for the former GDX Automotive site on Monday when the Wabash City Council met.

The Council also received preliminary copies of an agreement between the city and the firm to oversee work at the site.

Pitcher discussed the multi-phased operation that officials hope will eventually lead to a housing development at the site.

“We know we need to get the site cleaned up,” he said, “but there’s a systematic methodology with regard to how you do that, both from the environmental engineering standpoint – identifying what’s on the site, et cetera – and the processes.”

In October 2007, GDX officials announced they were closing the plant near the end of November 2007, leaving more than 600 people without work. One General Street LLC eventually purchased the site, razing it in August 2010. One General Street LLC is still the deeded owner of the property.

Included in the process will be working to ensure the city is protected from potential liabilities related to the site and its cleanup. It also plans to seek payment from former owners toward the cleanup.

“There is various funding at both the federal and state level that can come into play,” Pitcher told the Council. “And, of course, there’s the original owners that caused the pollution that also is a factor in there.”

A program intended to compensate farmers nationwide for reduced prices which have been put on commodities in the form of foreign tariffs was unveiled on Aug. 27.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced details of actions the U.S. Department of Agriculture will take to assist farmers from what it called “unjustified retaliation by foreign nations.”

President Donald Trump directed Perdue to develop a short-term relief strategy to protect farmers while the Administration works on reciprocal trade deals to open more markets in the long run to help American farmers compete globally.

As announced last month, USDA will authorize up to $12 billion in programs, consistent with the nation’s World Trade Organization obligations.

“Early on, the President instructed me, as Secretary of Agriculture, to make sure our farmers did not bear the brunt of unfair retaliatory tariffs,” Perdue said in a press release. “After careful analysis by our team at USDA, we have formulated our strategy to mitigate the trade damages sustained by our farmers. Our farmers work hard, and are the most productive in the world, and we aim to protect them.”